What do I expect out of this course? I'm not really sure what to expect. I can guess there will be essays and other things to write. What I'm not sure of is what kind of work will be done to prepare us to write these kinds of things. I would ask that proper technique and structure is shown to me so I can have an easier time writing whatever it is. The worst part of my time spent writing was when the teacher assumed I knew what I was doing and just threw a prompt at me with a due date attached.
What skills do I want to learn? I'd like to improve as well as learn more about writing essays. I always wait until that last minute possible because any attempts before that were pointless. My mind blanks and because I figure "it's alright if I don't start it today, I can start it as late as whenever and still get it done". There are certain subjects that my mind just won't get along with. With one prompt, I can write unlimited amounts and easily and be done with it. With another, I wait until the last day and ram my score into the ground because I have no idea in my mind what to write. Just to clarify, I would much rather be assigned a topic and not be asked to free write.
What are my strengths in English? I believe one of my biggest acomplishments in my writing is my ability to rewrite lines without even thinking, I'd call it "sentence flow". It's like in my head I store the current line, rewrite a thousand times, and then pick the best result. Sometimes I will stop mid-sentence, and rewrite the whole thing because a new idea popped into my head. Another thing I am good at is writing essays I am assigned a topic for. As long as someoen is there to set a subject for me, I can write about it.
What are my weaknesses? I think my biggest problem is freewriting. If I am told to write an essay about whatever I want, I am clueless. I don't know if it is to much going through my head all at once, or if I am just lazy. Sometimes it feels like I am constanly going off-topic when I write about whatever. I may get halfway through the essay and then stop and think I have a better idea--Very annoying.
I disagree.... I see effective free writing here on the blog. Do me e a favor and try to practice free writing as you did on the blog.... read out loud and fix what doesn't flow. You have a very distinct style in your writing and I really believe with some fine tuning you could really do something with your skill. Journalism or sports writing would be a cool path for you.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind off topic is ok... it is prewriting... just insure you go back in and edit it all out before you submit your published copy.